Social Media Best Practices

In a previous blog, I talked about the most important best practice for businesses in social media: the social media policy ( http://blog.andersondd.com/?p=783 ). And now I’d like to give you a few more general best practices that apply to any and all channels.

Participate often. You can’t just open the dialogue and then leave the room. You have to keep talking! Keep your posts fresh.

Don’t just talk; you’ve got to listen! Don’t let your followers think they are talking to a wall (or is it more appropriate to say “a blank screen”?).

Be honest. Honesty is the best policy—do I need to say any more on this point?

Don’t sell—engage! Use social media to build customer relationships and to interact with your customer base. Nothing makes your followers run for the hills and “unlike” faster than a hard sell.

Respond to complaints; don’t ignore them. Remember—an unhappy customer gives you an opportunity to create a happy customer (okay that’s kind of Pollyannaish but it’s true). An ignored unhappy customer can only be an unhappy customer. And through social media, an unhappy customer can make his/her disappointment widely known…very widely known.